Change in teaching assignments: principals will be able to propose that a temporary teacher continue in their center

BarcelonaImportant change in the awarding of teaching positions for the next academic year. The Department of Education has modified the resolution that set the criteria for determining the distribution of vacant positions in schools and institutes among teachers and professors for the 2026-2027 academic year. As ARA has been able to confirm, the novelty is that, unlike what was specified in the initial resolution, next academic year principals will be able to make continuity proposals for interim teachers. That is, a principal can propose that an interim teacher who is already at their school can continue teaching in the same school or institute for the next academic year.

The first resolution published on March 3 –and harshly criticized by hundreds of principals– only provided for this option in the cases of teachers who are already tenured. Now, in a new resolution of May 4, Education justifies that “the development of the preparatory work for the process of awarding provisional assignments for the 2026-2027 academic year has revealed the convenience of introducing certain adjustments to the initial regulation”.

According to the document published in the Diari Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya (DOGC), the purpose of this modification is “to clarify some aspects of the procedure, facilitate its application and respond to the organizational needs of educational centers”. In this way, next academic year principals will have a little more decision-making power to choose part of the faculty than was initially stipulated.

However, the continuity proposal for interim teachers will come after the continuity proposals and the selection of tenured and trainee teachers. That is, a principal's proposal for an interim teacher to continue at their school will only be possible if that vacancy is not requested by any tenured teacher.

In addition, for a substitute teacher to be requested by a principal for the following academic year, they must also meet various requirements, such as, for example, having the university master's degree in teacher training in the case of secondary school teachers. They must also have been assigned to the same center in the current academic year in a vacant position, and not as a substitute, for a minimum of four months. Other requirements include the accreditation of twelve months of service in the substitute staff employment pool, being listed as available in the pool as of September 1, 2026, and not having been appointed for more than 24 consecutive months in the same vacancy for which they are proposed.

Directors' request

This change in the assignment of teachers for the next academic year is one of the points that more than 300 school principals had requested, who filed a complaint with the Department of Education against the initial resolution of May 4. They did so through the Professional Association of Directors of the Educational Sphere (AXIA). According to their defense, the resolution also limits the possibility of conducting interviews to choose teachers to very specific cases, limits the role of the administrations, and "empties their capacity to manage teaching teams of content."

In fact, AXIA stated that the resolution constitutes a “clear and unjustified violation” of the current legal framework and represents a step backward in the autonomy of educational centers. In this regard, they accused the Department of Education of imposing a “restrictive, arbitrary, and technically unfounded” interpretation of the regulations.